These otherworldly flowers open as early as December and often stick around well into April. Get the plants in the ground this spring—you can order them online from thimblefarms.com—and you just might find yourself looking forward to next winter.

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How to Grow

How to Grow

Hardy throughout most of the United States (zones 4 to 9), hellebores ask for very little. Most want partial shade, well-drained soil, and a bed deep enough to accommodate their extensive root systems. In addition to delivering early-blooming, long-lasting flowers, many hellebores easily divide to create multiple plants. Just wait until they're fully established in your garden (at least two years) before digging up and dividing them, in late spring or early fall.

Pictured:Extra-Large Flowers: H. x hybridus 'Cherry Blossom' Hellebore blooms tend to top out at two to three inches wide. These fuchsia-veined blossoms, however, stretch to well over three inches in diameter.

Joshua McCullough

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Early Blooming: Helleborus niger

Early Blooming: Helleborus niger

As this species's common name—Christmas rose—suggests, it often starts flowering by late December. The subspecies macranthus, pictured here, sports particularly beautiful white to pale-pink blossoms.

How to Grow

Hardy throughout most of the United States (zones 4 to 9), hellebores ask for very little. Most want partial shade, well-drained soil, and a bed deep enough to accommodate their extensive root systems. In addition to delivering early-blooming, long-lasting flowers, many hellebores easily divide to create multiple plants. Just wait until they're fully established in your garden (at least two years) before digging up and dividing them, in late spring or early fall.

Pictured:Extra-Large Flowers: H. x hybridus 'Cherry Blossom' Hellebore blooms tend to top out at two to three inches wide. These fuchsia-veined blossoms, however, stretch to well over three inches in diameter.

Joshua McCullough

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Early Blooming: Helleborus niger

As this species's common name—Christmas rose—suggests, it often starts flowering by late December. The subspecies macranthus, pictured here, sports particularly beautiful white to pale-pink blossoms.

Living4media

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Showy Double: H. x hybridus 'Harlequin Gem'

This hellebore's foliage is finer than most, allowing the full, fluffy flowers—a striking combination of magenta, yellow, and green—to take center stage.

Joshua McCullough

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Sun-Tolerant: Helleborus argutifolius

Native to Corsica, this green giant—which can reach heights of five feet (as opposed to the usual one to two)—actually prefers six hours of direct light each day.

Janet Loughrey

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Long-Blooming: H. foetidus

Often called the stinking hellebore for the odor released when its foliage is crushed, this widely grown beauty's small, bell-like flowers linger for up to three full months.

Joshua McCullough

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Dark Coloration: H. x hybridus 'Blue Lady'

Though a relatively late bloomer (typically from mid-March to early April), this Lenten rose boasts a mysterious blue-purple hue that almost reads black.

The Garden Collection

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Abundant Blossoms: H. x ericsmithii 'Candy Love'

A vigorous hybrid with genes from H. niger and H. argutifolius, 'Candy Love' produces as many as 24 buds per stem.